Natural wonders · Curated list
Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Dead Sea and 27 more, ranked by how much of the world has written about each one.
Most written-about first. Each description summarises the lake's Wikipedia article, which its name links to.
1
Lake in Eurasia
The largest inland body of water on Earth, also described as its largest lake, though usually called a true sea. An endorheic basin in both Europe and Asia, it has the Caucasus to its west, the wide steppes of Central Asia to its east, the rich plains of Southern Russia, in Eastern Europe, to its north, and the mountainous Iranian Plateau to its south.
Wikidata · Photo: Jeff Schmaltz, MODIS Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC, Public domain
2
Freshwater rift lake in Russia
The deepest lake on Earth, a rift lake in southern Siberia, Russia, lying between the Republic of Buryatia on its southeast side and Irkutsk Oblast on its northwest.
Wikidata · Photo: Jason Rogers, CC BY 2.0
3
Salt lake in the Levant
A landlocked salt lake, known by several names, with Jordan on its east, the West Bank on its west and Israel on its southwest. It sits in the Jordan Rift Valley, a basin with no outlet to the sea, and the Jordan River is its main source of water.
Wikidata · Photo: David Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0
4
Lake in East-central Africa
A lake of Africa's Great Lakes that covers roughly 59,947 kmยฒ (23,146 sq mi). No lake in Africa, and no tropical lake anywhere, is larger by area, and among freshwater lakes only Lake Superior, in North America, has a larger surface.
Wikidata · Photo: Khanairobi, CC BY-SA 4.0
5
6
Lake in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
An endorheic salt lake that had Kazakhstan on its northern side and Uzbekistan on its southern. It started shrinking in the 1960s and by 2007 had mostly turned into desert. It lay in Kazakhstan's Kyzylorda and Aktobe regions and in Uzbekistan's autonomous region of Karakalpakstan.
Wikidata · Photo: NASA, derivative work by Zafiroblue05 at en.wikipedia, Public domain
7
Large lake on the border of Peru and Bolivia
A large lake high in the Andes, on the border of Peru and Bolivia, often called the world's highest navigable lake.
8
Largest of the Great Lakes of North America
A lake in central North America, the highest, most westerly and most northerly of the Great Lakes. It straddles the border of Canada and the United States, with Ontario, a Canadian province, to its north and east, Minnesota to its west, and Wisconsin and Michigan to its south.
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9
Easternmost of Great Lakes in North America
One of North America's five Great Lakes, with the Canadian province of Ontario on its north, west and southwest shores and the US state of New York on its south and east.
10
Volcanic crater lake in western Germany
Also called Lake Laach or Laach Lake, a volcanic crater lake 2 km (1.2 mi) across in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, with Andernach 8 km (5.0 mi) to its east, Koblenz 24 km (15 mi) to its southeast and Bonn 37 km (23 mi) to its north. It lies in the Eifel mountains, in the East Eifel volcanic field within the wider Volcanic Eifel.
11
One of the Great Lakes of North America
One of North America's five Great Lakes. After Lake Superior, it is the deepest and holds the most water; by surface area it ranks third, behind Lake Huron and Lake Superior.
Wikidata · Photo: Earth Science and Remote Sensing Unit, NASA Johnson Space Center , ISS Expedition 60, Public domain
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12
Lake in Africa
Known in Mozambique as Lago Niassa and in Tanzania as Lake Nyasa, one of Africa's Great Lakes, and the East African Rift's most southerly lake, bordered by Tanzania, Mozambique and Malawi.
Wikidata · Photo: Joachim Huber from Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0
13
Lake in West-Central Africa
An endorheic freshwater lake where four countries meet, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, in west and central Africa, with a catchment area of more than 1,000,000 kmยฒ (390,000 sq mi). Its wetlands are an important ecosystem of West-Central Africa.
Wikidata · Photo: User:Amcaja, Public domain
14
One of the Great Lakes in North America
Of North America's five Great Lakes, the fourth largest by surface area, and the eleventh largest lake in the world. It is the southernmost of the Great Lakes, the shallowest and the smallest by volume, and its water stays in it for the shortest time on average.
15
Lake in Switzerland and France
A deep lake on the northern side of the Alps, shared by France and Switzerland. One of Western Europe's biggest lakes, it is the largest along the Rhรดne.
16
One of the Great Lakes of North America
One of North America's five Great Lakes, with Michigan, a US state, on its southern and western shores, and Ontario, a Canadian province, on its northern and eastern ones.
17
Lake in Germany, Switzerland and Austria
Three stretches of water on the Rhine where the Alps' northern slopes end: the Obersee, or Upper Lake Constance; the Untersee, or Lower Lake Constance; and the Seerhein, the piece of the Rhine linking them. They lie in the Lake Constance Basin of the Alpine Foreland, through which the Rhine flows.
Wikidata · Photo: Jรถrg Braukmann, CC BY-SA 4.0
18
Lake in Leningrad, Russia
A freshwater lake in Leningrad Oblast and the Republic of Karelia, in northwestern Russia, near Saint Petersburg.
Wikidata · Photo: Yoneh at Finnish Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
19
Freshwater lake in Hungary
A freshwater rift lake in Hungary's Transdanubian region, the biggest lake in Central Europe and one of the region's leading tourist destinations.
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20
Freshwater lake in Israel
Also called Lake Tiberias, Genezareth Lake or Kinneret, a lake of fresh water in Israel's northeast. No freshwater lake on Earth lies lower, and only one lake of any kind does; its surface varies between 215 and 209 metres below sea level.
Wikidata · Photo: This image was taken by the NASA Expedition 20 crew., Public domain
21
22
Lake in southeastern Kazakhstan
Also called Lake Balqash, a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of Asia's biggest lakes and the 15th largest in the world.
23
Lake in northeastern Kyrgyzstan
Also written Ysyk-Kรถl, an endorheic salt lake in the western Tian Shan mountains of eastern Kyrgyzstan, just south of a range dividing Kyrgyzstan from Kazakhstan. Only seven lakes in the world are deeper and only ten hold more water, and among salt lakes it ranks second in size.
24
Lake in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo
A lake in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda, first called Lake Mwitanzige by the Banyoro and Nam Ovoyo Bonyo by the Alur, and for a time Lake Mobutu Sese Seko. It is the sixth-largest lake in Africa and the second-biggest of Uganda's Great Lakes.
Wikidata · Photo: Ndalilo koli, CC BY-SA 4.0
25
Lake in Italy
Italy's largest lake, a popular holiday spot in the north of the country, between Milan and Brescia to the west and Venice and Verona to the east.
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26
Lake in Lombardy, Italy
A glacial lake in Lombardy, Italy, also called Lario, covering 146 kmยฒ (56 sq mi); only Lake Garda and Lake Maggiore are larger in Italy.
Wikidata · Photo: Mรฆnsard vokser, CC BY-SA 4.0
27
Alkaline lake on the border of Ethiopia and Kenya
A saline lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, mostly in northern Kenya, its far northern tip reaching into Ethiopia. It is the largest permanent desert lake and the largest alkaline lake on Earth.
Wikidata · Photo: User:Doron, CC BY-SA 3.0
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28
Freshwater lake in Russia, second largest in Europe
A lake in northwestern Russia, in Vologda Oblast, Leningrad Oblast and the Republic of Karelia. Part of the Baltic Sea basin, it is Europe's second-largest lake, after Lake Ladoga, and a little smaller than Lebanon.
Wikidata · Photo: groshev1971, CC BY 3.0
29
Salt lake in Iran
A salt lake with no outlet to the sea, in Iran's Azerbaijan region, close to the Armenian border and to the south of the Caspian Sea.
30
Every Wikidata item that is a lake, or a kind of lake โ which in Wikidata includes the great inland seas, and that has its own English Wikipedia article, ranked by the number of Wikimedia sites with a page about it โ Wikipedia's language editions, mostly, and sister projects such as Wikiquote. That counts how many communities independently thought it worth describing, and nobody can buy a place on it. The top 30 are shown.
Wikidata files these under this list's query, but they are not what the list is about:
Fetched from Wikidata on 2026-09-25. Each description is this site's summary of the entry's Wikipedia article, which its name links to: the wording is ours, the facts are Wikipedia's, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. To correct an entry, correct it there; the next refresh carries the change.
Seeing any of these means travelling to one of 31 countries. Computatus eSIM sells prepaid data eSIMs for each of them, installed by QR code before you leave, so maps, tickets and messages work without a roaming bill.
| Country | Cheapest plan | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 1GB per day | $2.00 | Get it → |
| Azerbaijan | 1GB per day | $2.94 | Get it → |
| Kazakhstan | 2GB per day | $2.15 | Get it → |
| Israel | 1GB per day | $2.33 | Get it → |
| Jordan | 1GB for 7 days | $3.33 | Get it → |
| Uganda | 1GB for 7 days | $6.95 | Get it → |
| Kenya | 1GB per day | $3.29 | Get it → |
| Tanzania | 1GB per day | $5.67 | Get it → |
| Zambia | 1GB per day | $5.80 | Get it → |
| DR Congo | 1GB for 7 days | $5.14 | Get it → |
| Uzbekistan | 2GB per day | $2.51 | Get it → |
| Peru | 1GB for 7 days | $3.17 | Get it → |
See all Computatus eSIM plans →
A commission on plans bought through these links is what pays for this site. Nothing above depends on it: every entry is chosen and ranked before any price is looked up.
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